Today begins March Moss Madness. Better get used to it. After months of winter anything green and growing is going to catch and keep my attention until something better comes along. So here are today’s moss photographs.

This moss is a lot like me in a way. I can’t wait to get out from under the snow either.

The stone wall is only beginning to emerge from under the snow. It appears the moss goes into it’s reproductive mode as soon as the snow melts from it. Here some spore capsules that caught some water droplets.

I couldn’t resist turning this photograph into my new desktop background. I think it’s one of the cooler photos I’ve taken.

click image for a closer look or to use as desktop wallpaper – 1024 x 768
If you want a different size you’ll have to ask.

After countless tries I did manage to get a focus on this droplet. The photo isn’t anything special but after so many tries I just had to post the water droplet.

How do I make my dog obey the STAY command?
By placing her head between two boulders.

POOR POOKIE

A macro view of a miniature world in my backyard looks more like an alien ice age scene than a common terrestrial life form sighting.

I never tire of photographing these miniature lichen landscapes. The macro views are always fascinating and about the only way I can actually see them.

Desktop Backgrounds The top and bottom photos are linked to a 1024 x 768 sized image. The thumbnail to the left is linked to one sized 1680 x 1050 for wider resolutions. Generally I make wallpapers for my own use. I change them like diapers and create the size that fits me. If you like anything you see on this blog and would like a background created to fit your screen resolution – don’t hesitate to ask.

I’ll leave the understanding of Lichen reproduction to others. I’m getting too old for a complex anatomy and physiology lesson on these composite, symbiotic organisms. I know enough say these erections are a Lichen’s fruiting bodies but if you want to know more you’ll have to do your own research.

I should have flagged the location of this Lichen, I’m pretty sure I can find it again but it means covering a hell of a lot of stone wall. This is the first time I’ve seen the ‘jelly caps’ and I’m wondering if they just might be some British Soldier Lichen’s fruiting bodies that haven’t turned dry and bright red yet.

I’m satisfied with a very basic understanding that doesn’t need to go any further than this quote.

‘Lichens are fungi that have discovered agriculture’
…lichenologist Trevor Goward

There’s over a foot of snow on the ground and mushrooms are sprouting in my backyard. Growing on dead Elm trees these mushrooms are February fresh. It takes some mild winter temperatures but with nights still dipping below freezing I’d say they earned their common name, Winter Mushroom.

A single mushroom emerges from a crack in the dead Elm’s bark. The lichen and moss gives you an idea how small this specimen is. Flammulina velutipes caps can grow to 1 -2 inches.

I did a post back in September when Velvet Foot Mushroom was a more appropriate common name. On that post you can see some of the velvety stems.

A few caps were visible in a space between some peeling bark and the tree trunk.

The photo above is linked to a larger size (1024 x 768) for a closer look or to use as a desktop background. The thumbnail image is slightly different and links to an image more suited for a wide screen resolution – 1680 x 1050

Most of the growth is taking place under the bark. This is where they more closely resemble cultivated Flammulina velutipes known as Enoki mushrooms or Enokitake with long thin stems and tiny white caps.